The Slave
by ladyanaconda
Summary: Larry enters a come and now must face his painful memories, thoughts and mistakes of his entire life wit the help of a spirit guide. Slight LarryxOC
1. Am I Dead?

The Slave

Chapter 1- Am I Dead?

When I got back to my senses, I suddenly realized something was very wrong. A light in front of me hurt my eyes and I wasn't capable of even blinking. I tried to look away, tried to move my arms to cover my face with my hands without success. My entire body was paralyzed and pain and cold traveled trough it like I had never felt them before. I also tried to scream and ask for help but everything was useless, something came in from my mouth and burned my throat at the time a horrible sound hurt my ears.

Various hours in which the only thing that occupied my mind was a terrible desperation passed. From desperation I passed to terror when some thoughts could pass through the pain of my mind…

"Where am I?

"What's happening to me?"

"I'm dead!"

The mix of pain, terror and these thoughts, made me lose consciousness. Thanks the Star Spirits because I didn't stand anymore. I don't know if hours or days passed when I got back to my senses. I was still immobile, with my eyes wide open. The pain had decreased a bit, the light in front of me, blinded my eyes put it was bearable, now I was capable of realizing that the terrible noise was some kind of forced breathing, deep and strong.. it was not my breathing, I was sure.

The decreasing of the physical torment opened the door of another kind of suffering: the confusion in my mind and the urgent need of answers.

"Am I really dead?"

"Whose respiration that I heard is this?"

"What's this that I feel in my mouth and grips my throat?"

Soon I was recovering memories from I thought was the previous day; the party, the drinks, the argue with Carla and Edward's insistence on testing that stupid drogue that he thought fascinating.

"My love, stop drinking please… don't you see you're killing yourself?" Carla yelled at me "is that what you want?"

"I don't want to kill myself, I want to escape"

"Escape from what? You're crazy"

"Yes, I'm crazy and you don't understand me… no one understands me…"

I took to my mouth the pair of blue pills I accepted form Edward. That's the last I remember

"Oh, Star Spirits! I finally did it, I ended with my life. It can't be!... what's going on? Why can't I move? Why can't I close my eyes?

"That moron poisoned me" I thought "I'm in hell paying for everything I did… it's much worse than I imagined"

I didn't believe in afterlife but in that moment I found another answer.

"No, Star Spirits, please forgive me!... give me another chance…"

The sound of a door that opened interrupted my thoughts, then I distinguished a feminine voice:

"But what noise does that crap make!" she commented

"It's the only one we have, you know how things are here" a male Koopa answered

"How is it possible we only have one artificial breathing device?"

"Well, it's like this and we must do the best we can with what we have"

"And this one?... what happened to him?"

"This one? This one is doomed. Uncover him so you may see him"

I felt how she removed a blanket from my face and I could see a female Koopa wearing a white coat with a expression between amaze and fear.

"He's awake!" she yelled

The medical Koopa next to her bowed to see me

"No, they brought him like that, when he entered urgencies they said he had an accident, he was completely intoxicated put still conscious, he repeated once and once again: "Carla, Carla, forgive me"

Then he fell into a coma and a kind of Rigor Mortis, they couldn't close his eyes

"Poor Larry Koopa, he should have been better if he had died.

"It would have been better for us! Now we must keep him alive like a vegetable, occupying a bed others need and wasting energy.

"But… can he se, hear… does he feel?"

"Of course not, look…"

I saw how he moved a tube near my bed and felt a terrible twinge in my arm.

"That hurts moron!... I'm alive! I'm conscious! HELP ME!" I tried in vain to yell at him"

"take advantage to change the serum" the Koopa said "someone must water the plants"

Both let out a laugh and I was filled of rage and desperation

The koopa went out of the room, the female koopa changed a jar that hanged next to my bed and rushed out.

I had some answers now… the conversation repeated itself one and again in my mind:

An accident?


	2. The Spirit Guide

The Slave

Chapter 2- The Spirit Guide

The first days I could explore the room I was in. in reality, I explored the part of the room that was in my immobile visual field. There was a lamp in the ceiling that seemed like about to fall. On the right side of my bed there was a hook that in which a serum jar, which the nurse changed every day, hung. More to the right I could see a tube that contained a black blower that rose and fell at the rate that, now, I identified as "my breathing"

On the left side I saw a complicate device with various switches, spotlights and graphics. Then I found out I was in charge of controlling my breathing, the beatings of my heart and the nutrients that were given to me through a tube that went direct to my stomach. Behind the device there was a part of the window that was a torture for me. The light that came in each morning, hurt my pupils, it woke me up and always brought me back to the hell I was in. the physical pain was nothing compared to the pain caused by my own thoughts. The impotence, the guilt, the rancor, the fear and the impossibility to express my feelings, everything was in my mind and made me crazy.

Each day I prayed for not waking up again, for that machine that kept me alive stopped working and ended up with my suffering. Who gave those doctors the right to keep me here? What's the point in keeping me alive? I'm a damned plant incapable of move or express! Impotence seized me and turned into hatred. Hatred for those who kept me alive, hatred for life itself.

The nurse was right, it would have been better if I had died. And, however, everyday she came in with her face filled of fear to change the serum that fed me. Despite she thought I was unconscious, she never looked into my eyes. She hurriedly checked the tubes that went from my body to the device and went out the faster she could. Each time I saw her came in I pleaded her, in my mind, to forget about taking care of me. Didn't she realize she didn't make me any favors by keeping me alive?

"hey, please leave that" I pleaded her in my mind "if you're afraid of seeing me, don't come anymore, just let me die…"

But once and again I saw her make her routine and leave me here… alive. Once and again and again and again…

"Damn it, finish this! Please someone do something! I don't want to live anymore!"

"_You'd better get used to it, because it seems you will be there for a while." _I suddenly heard someone spoke to me

But… there was no one in the room

"_What a TERRIBLE situation you got yourself into" _the weird voice insisted

"Who are you? Are you an angel?" I replied afraid. In some way I realized the voice didn't come from the exterior.

"_Ha! You were the worst of atheist and now you believe in the star spirits and the star court? You have to be kidding!"_

"But… how can you know what I am thinking? Did I become insane?"

"_That's more probable"_

"Then, aren't you real?"

"_Look… I can't tell you anything you don't know already. Maybe you will know who I am later"_

"But… is Carla okay? "Why doesn't my father come to see me? When will I die? Is this a punishment?"

"_What stubbornness, man! I don't know anything you don't know_"

"Then you're not very useful"

"_If you want I will leave_"

"NO! Please, don't go"

In that moment I remembered Carla always said that every creature born in this world had a Spirit Guide to light them through the long, dark night, and one could only hear if meditating enough. I always thought that was a stupid myth.

"_I also think it's a myth" _the voice replied "_but I like the guide thing"_

Could maybe, a Spirit Guide be so rude and sarcastic?

"_Listen… if you don't like me, I'm leaving and it's over"_

"No, don't be mad, I just want to understand what's happening"

"_You should have better tried to understand the stupid thing you did before the stupid situation you got yourself into_"

"I just wanted to escape and be free of my problems"

"_JA! You wanted to escape from your problems and became a slave"_

"A slave?"

"_That's it, you don't have a will of your own, you can't move or express yourself, you can't even take your life away if you wanted to"_

"And you just came to make me feel worse" I answered him

"_That I came? I have always been with you; the problem is that you never listened to me. Besides, no one can make you feel anything"_

"What nonsense! How can nobody make me feel anything? My father always made me angry, my siblings made me feel less, my pairs constantly hurt me"

"_Look, I'll explain you better… before being here, you were completely free, nothing and nobody had power over you. You had the chance to make anything you proposed yourself, you were the owner of your life"_

"And what does that have to do with my feelings?"

"_Calm down, what's your hurry? After all we have a lot of time to think and chat"_

"I tell you are a sarcastic!"

"_Let's continue. You were also free to think whatever you want and, therefore, to choose your feelings"_

"How's that of choosing my feelings?"

"_Yes, your feelings come and can only come from your thoughts, that's how it works: you think of something sad and become sad, you think in something that angers you and become angry, you think others can hurt you or disappoint you or make you feel bad but, no one can go into your mind and make you think nor feel anything. Even in this moment, the others can move your body and do what they please with it, even, they could turn off that machine that keeps you alive but, in your mind, you still have control._

"You said you couldn't say anything I didn't already know"

"_Well, the only thing this proves, is that you're not as idiot as you thought you were"_

"And here go the insult again"

"_it's not an insult, in reality you thought yourself as an idiot, besides you thought yourself as a victim, always blaming the others and circumstances of what went wrong in your life"_

"Well yes, my life hasn't been easy, besides with the kind of family I got and to end up, I had bad luck"

"_Oh, poor of you! When you speak like that, I imagine you like a slave of your past, of other people's wishes, of circumstances and luck"_

"What I supposedly had control over everything that happened? What I supposedly can control the others?"

"_You hadn't control over what happened, but you had and have co0ntrol over what happens in your mind. You are the one who decides what thoughts have and how to react in any situation"_

"Yes, like me, how couldn't I react on a positive way before the problems I had?"

"_You had the option of seeing them as problems or obstacles to defeat, like a curse or a challenge. If it wasn't you who decided how to react, who was?"_

"You are making me angry so, the only one to blame for everything that happens to me is me?"

"_You're making you angry yourself; besides, it's not about blaming anyone. However, tell me… who moved your hand that time you hit Carla across the face? Who moved it when you served yourself a cup after another? Who placed in your mouth those pills that brought you here in the first place?"_

I felt about to explode, I suppose that expressing our feelings serves as a escape valve and I couldn't even cry, I was furious for what my Guide told me and the worst, is that he was right in everything he told me.

Luckily, something else happened that caught my attention. The door opened and a Koopa nurse came in. this time it was not that cold female Koopa that usually changed the serum that fed me. She came closer to my bed and bowed to see me. I noticed a lot of sadness in her green eyes, her blonde hair constantly fell over her face and she pushed it behind her head with her fingers. The reminded me of my mother… she was staring at me for some seconds and I could read her name in the hospital's badge: Esperanza.

"Hi" she told me

"Hi Esperanza" I imagined to answer her

"Poor you, look how you are"

"Well, you see how life is" I kept with the conversation in my mind

She caressed my blue, combed-back Mohawk and told me:

"Don't worry; I will take care of you"

"Thanks a lot" I answered her

"_She's much closer of being an angel than I" _my Guide commented "_besides she's pretty!"_

She carefully changed the serum, fixed the cushions under my head and checked that the devices around me worked constantly

"See you tomorrow" she told me before going out

"See you tomorrow" I imagined to answer her

"_See you tomorrow beauty!"_ my Guide yelled in my head


	3. Trauma

The Slave

Chapter 3- Trauma

That night I had a weird dream: I was a wooden puppet with various cords attached to my hands, feet and head. In the other end, different people took turns to move me; I saw my father, some or other teacher, and a ex-girlfriend. They all laughed making me hop and dance, placed me in ridiculous positions and forced me to gesticulate like a monkey. In my dream, I knew I could easily break the cords but I preferred to let them manipulate me. I suppose it was easier to let others decide for me, than make me responsible of myself.

When they all got tired of playing with me, they left me in the floor, the floor turned into a bed and then I could see the lamp of the room… I had woken up. Sleeping with open wide open was the weirdest thing. It was hard for me to get to sleep every night and in the mornings it cost me some work to know when dreams ended and reality began. Sometimes I realized I was dreaming because I could move or because I wasn't in this horrible room of the hospital- then, I ran to get away the most possible and wished to never wake up. However, day after day, I found myself staring at the lamp, the ceiling, the black bellow going up an down and the device that kept me in this unending nightmare.

The door opened and I saw Esperanza come in, she had in her hand a plastic recipient with water.

"Good morning" she said

"Good morning" I always answered her in my mind

"Today's your bath day"

"No, please, how embarrassing!"

She removed the blanket and my light blue shell that covered my naked body. I was filled with embarrassment. In fact, I was the puppet of my dream and the others could make of me what they wanted. Something in her look calmed me down, I supposed she didn't see a naked Koopa but a patient like many others she tended to.

She put a sponge in the recipient and began to wipe my face.

"Look at you, you're so young…"

Why did she talk to me? Did she know I could heard her?

"Besides you're not ugly, you're very cute" she smiled timidly and blushed "I hope you're not conscious, poor little thing"

"I'M COUNSCIOUS!"

"I hope you're already gone, and the only thing left here is your body"

"NO, DAMN IT! I'm here and I can see and listen to you!"

"If you're in there, you must be feeling very lonely"

She remained in thought for a moment and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm also very lonely, you know, my husband died some years ago" she continued as she dried her tears with the sleeve of her white coat "since then, I feel like paralyzed, filled of fears and insecurities" she kept going with het monologue as she wiped my body with the sponge "I suppose that, in some way, we are all paralyzed by our fears, our resentments, the worry or our traumas…"

"Don't speak me about traumas because that's what brought me here"

"I'd like to be braver and dare to do many things. I don't know, maybe keep going with my studies or look for another mate, anyway, so many things. But I can't."

She finished wiping my body and as she put me my shell once again, I realized that, she had lost everything, contact was the thing she missed the most. I would like to tell her not to leave, to keep talking to me a while longer.

"I must keep working but I will see you again when I come to change the serum"

"don't go, please, stay a while more"

She caressed my hair once again and stared at me for a few seconds with a great compassion.

"I'm sure your family must be looking for you and won't take long in coming to visit you. Lord Bowser had been very busy lately, Larry"

She went out of the room and I was alone again, like everyday. She was right, I feel very lonely in here and… now I understand it was all my fault.

"_Guilt is a useless feeling_" I heard the voice of my Guide once again

What for me was a great happiness because, despite he made me angry for the things he said, I spent the best time in "the prison of my body"

"Of course it's call my fault. If I accept I wasn't a puppet of circumstances, then the one to blame for everything that happens to me… it's myself!"

"_This is a life full of contradictions, you are born free bur you must work to keep your freedom and must made yourself responsible for it. You, for example you're alive but you're not at the same time, the doctors think you're a plant but you're conscious. Esperanza in the other hand, has all possibilities to do what she proposes but she feels paralyzed just like you"_

"She said because of her traumas"

"_The word Trauma comes from the Greek and means wound"_

"Yes, I once read that in a psychology book"

"_Of course you read it if you hadn't, I would not be able to tell you now but don't interrupt me... this is life's first contradiction: all living beings are born completely free but completely dependent. In fact, from all animals, the ones who require more attention from their parents are the Koopas and the Humans. The children know that, of their parents don't take care of them… they die! Then love become for them, a life-or-matter. Now, when children are growing up, they don't know anything in absolute and… who do you think they learn everything about life?"_

"Their parents"

"_Of course. If you arrive to an unknown planet and saw that all inhabitants fight with each other, you would conclude that it's normal"_

"Like my damn father, that always beat us"

"_Now, well, the children know nothing about themselves neither and... who do you think they learn everything about themselves from?"_

"From their parents too, obviously"

"_That is, the children think that these two powerful beings their lives depend on, know everything and are always right. When your father told you: you're an idiot and you're useless you believed it"_

"I did not!"

"_No? What did you tell yourself when you made a mistake?"_

"I'm an idiot"

"_And, what did you tell yourself when you drank again and had proposed yourself to stop doing it?"_

"I'm useless"

"_There you have it! The children, besides, copy from their parents the way of relating wit everything around them. If the father thinks humans are evil the children believe it too. If the mother is worried or full of anguish, the children will feel the same"_

"That's how we start tying cords in hands and feet, right?"

"_Exactly! And in this relationship start our traumas or our wounds. When you were a small child and made a mistake, your father insulted you or sometimes beat you, you thought you were bad, that hurt you more that the beating. When he told you if you didn't behave well he didn't love you anymore, it hurt you to and filled you with anguish"_

"Then he is the one to blame for everything!"

"_no sire, don't be stubborn. He also has wounds and he did the best with the knowledge he had. He also learned it from his father and his father from his father."_

"it's a vicious circle"

"_a circle that can be broken"_

"Yeah? How?"

"_To stop looking for anyone to blame. Look, guilt is, in reality, the fear of being rejected by the others. A fear funded when you were little, if your father rejected you, your life was in the line. Your father used guilt so you would do that he thought was the right thing. If you don't eat well, you're a bad boy, if you behave badly I don't love you anymore, people don't like children who say lies or are rude."_

"But… it worked!"

"_of course it worked! Guilt is excellent for controlling others"_

"But, without guilt we would do everything e wanted and kill each other"

"_that's why I say guilt is a useless feeling, as with guilt and everything, everyone is killing each other. in becoming responsible of itself and its freedom is what every living being has failed. The person that accepts the responsibility of its life, realizes that its him who makes his destiny and knows that every decision he makes molds his future, he accepts the responsibility of his acts but understands that, as he is not perfect, he can make mistakes and in this case, he doesn't blame himself; if it can be fixed, he does something about it; if it can't, he know how much guilt he feels about what happened nothing will change. With traumas and everything, with wounds and everything, living beings have the possibility of make his life better or destroying himself."_

"Like me, damn it! Don't say anything else! What does it serve me to know this now? I'm here like a plant without being able to even discharge this rage and sadness I feel!"

"_Even now you're free to choose your thoughts and feelings"_

"Well, then in this moment I choose FOR YOU TO SHUT UP! I choose to feel damned, I choose to fill myself with sadness, hatred and resentment!"

If my father did the best he could, really, he didn't do anything right. I was free to mae of my life whatever I wanted and chose to drink and drug myself, I chose to end up here like a damned, thinking plant… today I choose, then, to lose all hope… the only thing I want is to cease thinking, cease existing!

Those were my thoughts when the door suddenly opened

"Hello again, you won't get free of me so easily" Esperanza said after closing the door, as if she could read my thoughts. She came closer to my bed and commented:

"I have good news; apparently your father is back"

"No, it can't be"

"He will come to see you later" she said while she changed the serum jar "it will be painful for him to see you like this…"

"No, damn it! I don't want him to come"

"…so I thought about fixing you a bit" she got a comb out of her pocket and began to comb my blue Mohawk backwards, I always calmed down when she touched me.

"Why do you do this? Why do you take so much care of me if you don't even know me?"

"I'm not very believer, you know" she commented "but I think there are star spirits who take care of us"

"Oh, yeah, that's why they allow me to be in this hell"

"I don't know why bad things always happen to people" she continued "but I think the star spirits take care of us through ourselves. That's why I'm nurse. I imagine I help the star spirits take care of others. Sometimes I think that, in their desperation, people say: star spirits, why don't you help me? But in reality, he star spirits are in the good people who help others."

She let out a timid smile and I thought the room had illuminated.

"Well… you're ready, I'd better go before becoming more cursi"

This time she went more forward: she gave me a kiss in the cheek and hurried out of the room

My father is coming!

Y guide is right, this is a life full of contradictions, I miss them so much and at the same time I'm filled of resentment towards him. I have so much eagerness to see my siblings but I know that seeing me like this will cause them a lot of grief. If I could only forgive them, If they could only forgive me. Will Carla come with them? Night came as I was still with my thoughts mixed about forgiveness, guilt and resentment, until I couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep.


	4. My Father

The Slave

Chapter 4- My Father

"come on, Larry! Catch me!" my older brother Iggy told me playfully

"it's not fair, you're faster!" I replied tired

Iggy apparently didn't listen as he just ran to avoid me, I was getting tired and tired. Eventually, I managed to tackle Iggy down into a hug, he laughed and tickled at me.

"hahahaha! No, Iggy, no!" I laughed

We ran towards the doors of the castle and the sun got into my eyes when I opened it. My pupils eventually got used to the light and I could distinguish my brother Iggy's face, but not young and calm like in the dream I just woke up from, but his 17 year old face and with a deep sorrow expression. His green, plant like hair hadn't changed over the years, only his body had changed, being now skinnier and taller than the rest of my siblings. He couldn't contain tears, he often dried them with his arm.

I also distinguished my father standing behind him with his typical stare of seriously and strength, not even in this situation he allowed himself to show his feelings, he placed a comforting hand on Iggy's shoulder trying to comfort him.

"Larry, little brother… please, answer me!" Iggy pleaded me

"Doctors say he can't hear you, try to calm down" my father told him

"How is possible that this happened to you, Larry? Why? Why?" Iggy started to yell and hit my chest desperately

My father forces him to stand up and hugged him tightly against his chest to calm him down "you have to calm down Ignatius" he pleaded him

"How do you expect me to calm down? My brother is like dead!" Iggy yelled at the time he tried to step away from dad

"It's your fault!" was everything my older brother said before fainting

My father held him in his arms, rested him in a couch next to the door and hurriedly went out of the room to look for help.

"Big brother, forgive me! I never wanted to cause you s much pain, it's not your fault, you always took care of me when mom died"

Iggy began to regain consciousness just when dad came back with Esperanza.

"I'll apply him a calmative" she told him

She prepared a syringe and applied Iggy an injection on his arms

"It can be, it can be…" Iggy repeated as he remained rested in the couch

"He will be fine" Esperanza said and retired

I never saw my father so afflicted, only when mom died, he was desperate, seeing my dejected brother and turned to see me, clenched his fists and I could see how he gnashed his teeth as he clenched his jaw, I recognized the look he had when he was about to beat us. I felt afraid, but… something happened, suddenly, he took his hands to his face, kneeled next to my bed and started to cry.

It was hard for me to believe I was witnessing this; my father was always very hard with us. I knew he loved us because we never lacked anything but it was very hard for him to express his feelings. He kept crying for a long while and repeating: "it's not possible, it's not possible"…

"My son, I'm sorry" he told me as he placed my hand between his "I love you very much, you know?"

"No dad I didn't know"

"I always was very strict with you because I was taught that discipline was the most important thing. That was the education I received and life was very hard with me"

"now I understand dad, I don't understand how eagerness I have to hug and kiss you" I wanted to tell him

"I was always hidden behind a mask of fortress." He continued "and it's not until now, that you are here immobile and maybe you can't even hear me, I can express you how much love you. I know now, it's a grave mistake. Sometimes we act as if we had life bought, as if your beloved beings would always be with us. Maybe I should have been more loving, maybe I should have hugged you more and require you less. Maybe it's all my fault. But… what could I do, son? You know I always wanted the best for all of you, and when your mother died…

"Now I know dad. Please don't blame yourself anymore"

"You always repeated me to leave you alone, to let you live your life, but… I got desperate to see you wasted your time and affected your health. Maybe it should have been best to try and understand you and speak with you, however my father said that words with blood enter. Do you imagine? That's how I learned… now I know it's wrong. I'm very sorry."

He couldn't speak anymore and along his forehead into his hands as he stretched mine and cried with no stop.

Not he and I noticed Iggy had woken up and looked at him confused, he didn't know it what he was seeing was real or it was a effect of the drug he had been administrated. Filled of compassion, he hugged dad.

"We must be strong, dad" he told him "the star spirits will help us"

They spent the rest of the evening next to me, not talking anymore, just looking at each other and when one cried, he other tried to comfort him. this scene brought in my mind the memory of that time when I was in bed boiling in fever and my parents and siblings turned to take care of me. Slowly memories of my mother and siblings cares and my father's teachings came into my mind. Thanks to them I learned to walk, talk. If they hadn't loved me i would have never possible for me to survive.

How it's only now that I realize how much my family loves me, now that I don't have the chance to tell them how much I love them and how much I thank them for everything they have given to me?


	5. Beliefs

The Slave

Chapter 5- Beliefs

The next days I checked what my Guide told me about freedom. We really ARE free, that means we can make mistakes and face the consequences of our acts being free also means that, we create our own future with every decision we take, fate doesn't exist, we create it at every moment. Despite my siblings and I had received the same education, our fates were very different.

Ludwig, the eldest and the Heir to the Koopa Throne, was always successful, I suppose that instead of rebelling, like I did, he chose to take the good things and apply it in his things, today he even is a great composer.

Lemmy, the second eldest, has a hobby of going to the circus and work as a clown rolling on his ball. He is the smallest of us, despite not being the youngest, and is very immature. He always remained cheerful even in the darkest moment.

Roy, on the other hand, always dealt emotional problems with a hardened heart. He loves to use brute force over to thinking things through, maybe because of his lack of brains. Once heard that Roy does to everyone what Dad did to him, and I agreed.

Iggy, you already know him, was always the "know-it-all" of the family. He is a mechanical genius, and often builds new weapons, vehicles and even quimical experiments to help dad get rid of Mario for good.

Wendy is the only girl, and is a very spoiled brat. She, however, had married a few months ago. My father didn't accept her boyfriend; in fact, he told her that if she married with him he would forget she was his daughter. She remained firm in her decision and hadn't seen each other since then.

Morton is very cantankerous, and is very grumpy sometimes. He also speaks, but never shuts it! He would never know when to stop talking, forcing Roy to constantly interrupt him. I just hope if Morton comes to see me, he won't start with his long speeches or something.

And last but not least was Bowser Jr., dad's favorite child; he was only 8 years old. When mom got pregnant of him it was a surprise for everyone. His birth brought me a lot of happiness. He was my adoration and he loved me very much.

Little by little Iggy and dad accepted the situation and I too. In the months that passed, I managed to see parts of my family that I had never seen before my father's loving and caring side, Iggy's great strength (literally, if you know what I mean), the union that I never felt in my siblings. I suppose that seeing me totally defenseless and immobile brought to their minds the fragility of life and faces them with their own vulnerability.

I remember when Wendy, her husband and my father encountered in my room, there wasn't any need of words, nor explanations or apologies. Wendy ran to hug my father and he received her like saying: "I missed you very much". Then he turned to her husband and told him: "thanks for coming… son-in-law" and stretched out his hand. That was enough to make it clear that my father now respected her decision, that now, it was more important for him to see his daughter than having the reason.

How terrible that a tragedy had to happen so my family would be together and start to express their love, laced aside their resentments and complications. But… why is it that way? If we are really free, why don0t we choose to be nice with ourselves and those who surround us?

"_Because of our beliefs_" one again, my Guide came to teach me something

"Beliefs? I don't understand" was my reply

"_Our beliefs mold our existence. Anything that you think of yourself is true. Anything that you think of the others and any belief that you have about what happens around you, is also true… for you._"

"I don't understand anything"

"_Look, everything you see, feel hear and live is truth for yourself, but not for the others. You live the things that happen to you in a different way of the whole world. We all have a distinct way and unique to see life._"

"That's why argues never come to a solution."

"_Of course, an argue is wanting another person to see life the same way to see it and that… is impossible!_ _Millions of people…_" he continued. "…_Die in wars because their leaders want to impose their way of seeing life the same way they do. Enough that the ruler of the kingdom wants to impose his believe that an economic system is the adequate, pr that others should praise his god, so he orders to kill all those who refuse to believe the same_"

"Fifteen million died in the Second Koopa-Mushroom Kingdom War, it's unbelievable" I commented

"_Exactly, your grandfather Morton was a psychotic and managed to convince an entire kingdom, that they belonged to a superior race. Six million of innocents suffered the worst atrocities that the Mushroom World had presented ever"_

"But, what does that have to do with being nice with the others?"

"_It has everything to do. What do you miss the most in this moment?_"

"My health, the capacity to move, to express my ideas and feelings. The possibility to coexist with my loved beings."

"_So… you miss what you already had."_

"Yes! Before that was for me the most natural, I suppose I had it secured and didn't even allow myself to understand the blessing my body was"

"_Well the same too, we make for sure the most valuable things of life an go around there, looking for the superficial, because we believe that there is something would make us happy if we had it"_

"Yes, we forget the true important things: of our relationships, of what we already have; we always want more and more."

"_The living being had the mistaken belief that it needs something to be happy, it doesn't realize that, it already has what it needs! It doesn't realize that happiness is a way of seeing life, an attitude, a custom._"

"You are right, my life was full of blessings, but I was always unsatisfied" I answered him

"_Most people is, they always fall in the stupid game of accumulating and accumulating_._ Some accumulate money, others knowledge and titles. Full of fear of poverty, of what will they say, of not being a valuable person; without realizing that, it's not what they have that makes them valuable, but what they ARE_"

"It's like a competition. I always remember wanting to be better than the rest, to have a better car, being cutter. Today I would give without thinking, all of that for simply hugging my father and siblings."

"_However_" he interrupted me "_it's a competition in which no one wins, because we are all unique and different. We forget that we won't take anything and fulfillments are nothing if we don't have someone to share them with. Can you realize that we answer to mistaken beliefs?"_

After reconsidering a bit I commented:

"I think you are completely right, we are always trying to have more, to do more, to manage more, to be more; without realizing that if we stopped a bit to enjoy and thank for what we already have, what we have managed, what we already are, we would be happy in that moment. And, however… why it isn't that way? Why does almost everyone do the same? How is it possible that we forget that the most important things in our life are our relationships? Why that habit of ignoring what we have and set our sights on what we don't have?"

"_Because we share mistaken beliefs_"

"Everyone? How is that possible?"

"_Possibly because we live in a neurotic society. What propitiates ou wrong beliefs, what promotes false values and has its priorities bad-established"_

"It seems hard for me to believe that we are all wrong"

"_Hard? Then how do you explain wars? Send our own sons and brethren to death to defend our ideas. How do you explain that the wealth of the world is distributed between the 10% of the population and the rest starves? How can you explain then that people kill for money, that fathers pay more attention in their work than in their children and their own family? How do yo understand then, that we humans are contaminating and destroying the Earth that is their home and they are annihilating almost all of the being that inhabit it? What is then the reason that they see children starve and do nothing about it?_"

"alright, alright, I got the message… don't be mad at me…"

_I already overcame the emotions like anger. What I want is for you to understand that the world's reality has been created by the Man and its beliefs. Belief that there's not enough foe everyone, has taken humans to create a reality of misery. To believe that money and power brings happiness has taken them and even us to get away from our brethren. To think that out life depends on what happens around us has made us lose control of our lives_"

"You mean that our beliefs create our reality?"

"_exactly! What you believe, soon or late manifests in your life_"

We were in that when I heard someone argued behind my room's door…

I recognized Esperanza's voice that said:

"You can't enter miss, only when the relatives are present"

"But I don't want to see his relatives, I want to see HIM" a feminine vice said that I didn't recognize for now "besides, doesn't this convert m into his family?" she continued without I could figure out what she was referring to.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Esperanza asked

"What do you care? Let me go in…"

The door opened violently and there she was, finally... Carla had came to visit me.

She got closer to the bed while Esperanza followed her, trying to stop her. When she saw me she became so pale that I thought she was going to faint. Esperanza, when seeing the expression on her face, ceased on her attempt on preventing her from seeing me and placed her hand over her shoulder to calm her down.

She remained motionless, simply staring at me like scared, until she exploded yelling after a while:

"You damned! How could you do this to yourself? How could you do this to me?" she yelled as her face filled with tears "and now, what am I going to do? Look at me" she said as she took her hands to her belly. It was obvious that she had like seven or eight months of pregnancy.

I felt a chill ran in my body when I saw she came closer yelling, with the intention of scratching my face. Unfortunately Esperanza stopped her grabbing her by her arms and taking her away from me. Unfortunately, because in that moment I understood perfectly her anger and gladly would have allowed her to hurt me just to cool down her rage… just to decrease the guilt I felt… just to let her touch me…

Esperanza tightly pressed her arms while she struggled tying to get loose.

"Leave me, damn it, leave me!" she screamed and fought like crazy

"try to calm down, you won't get anything with this" Esperanza repeated at her one again and again.

She slowly calmed down, stopped fighting and allowed Esperanza to hug her. Then the two elements of security of the hospital were already in the room; two tall paratroopas wearing white uniforms. Esperanza indicated them that everything was under control and their presence was not necessary. After the paratroopas took their leave, they were soon followed by Carla and Esperanza.

Various encountered feeling filled my mind. In one side the happiness of seeing that Carla was alive and on the other hand, the sadness of seeing her suffering so much. Besides… she's pregnant! Oh, Star Spirits, why now that I can't do anything? What will become of her and the baby? Why is this happening to me?

"_Ow, ow, why is this happening to me?_" my guide repeated in mocking tone on my head "_things don't happen to you they just happen…_"

"Shut up you damned how can you mock at my suffering?" I answered him in my mind. I felt I was filled with rage and I felt an intense ache in my chest.

"_I'm not mocking at your suffering, I mock at your arrogance" _was the last he had said before something extraordinary thing happened to me…


	6. Living in a Dream

The Slave

Chapter 6- Dream

For a few moments, my vision field changed completely. I was snot looking towards the ceiling but down… I was seeing myself! I saw my immobile body, weak and worn out, I saw my emaciated face with my eyes exaggeratedly open and a expression of terrible anguish. That image made me understand why everyone was terrified when they saw me.

Everything passed in front of my eyes as in slow camera. I could hear an alarm in the device next to my bed indicating that my heart had stopped. I saw how two doctors and various nurses, Esperanza one of them, entered hurriedly to the room. I saw them worried checking wires and moving switches.

A sensation of immense peace and complete indifference invaded me. In matter of seconds, I remembered my life's most important moments… in fact, not only I remembered them, but I lived them again.

And I lived once again the kind and warm of my mother's arms when I was a baby, I perceived her perfume and her gentle look, her affection and her love for me.

I lived one again the happy moments with my beloved beings: I heard the laughs and felt the joy of sharing my life with them.

In seconds I traveled through all the special moments for me: the first time I saw the sea, the warmth of the sun in my scales, my first kiss, the taste of my favorite food, all the beautiful landscapes that I had the chance to enjoy, my favorite melody and in being with Carla…

"I'd like to be with Carla once again and meet the baby…"

That was my last thought I had in those wonderful moments. What followed was not nice… after a strong electric shock I felt myself in my body, I could see a doctor inclined in front of me holding two devices against my chest. One more electric shock made my back to bend itself and my body shale on the bed.

"He's got pulse!" someone yelled in the bottom

"The vital signs are getting normal… we got him back" one of the nurses commented

While everyone who was in there retired with between smiles and congratulations, the doctor that was still in front of me, he stared at me thoughtful.

"What's wrong?" Esperanza came closer to ask him

"I don't know if I do right or wrong in keeping him alive" he answered

"You're doing right… that's your job" Esperanza answered him giving him pats in his back

"I don't think he lasts long… let's see what happens" he answered with coldness and lifting his shoulder as if saying: "this depends on me no longer"

After checking the devices around my bed worked correctly and my vital signs continued stable, the doctor retired asking Esperanza to call my father to inform him of the success.

Despite the pain and the uncomforting in my body had come back, I still kept the peace that invaded me moments before. I had besides, a clarity in my mind that I had never experimented. It was as if suddenly, my fears and insecurities had disappeared. As if suddenly I recovered a great wisdom I had lost. As if I could see, for a few seconds, a bigger perspective. Something had changed in me… I had changed.

I still can't explain to myself what had really happened. Maybe my brain still received enough oxygen to keep me alive and I had imagined everything, maybe I had reached a superior state f conscience or maybe, in effect, I had received a second chance. That really doesn't matter, what was very clear in my mind was that my wish of being with Carla and seeing the baby kept me alive. In any way I understood that the only way of remaining in this world and with our beloved beings, is through our body. That the only way of being myself, is through my mind. That what I am, is a combination of stories, memories, expectative, desires and wishes, all unique and unrepeatable. I understood that this life is the only chance we have to be ourselves. I didn't care as much about my condition as before, the joy of being here and of being able to participate in life, despite being as an observer, was worth of it.

"_nothing like a taste of Death to appreciate life_" I heard my guide, "_are you still angry?_"

"I already overcame the feelings like anger" now I was the one with the mocking tone

"_Ha! You're even on a good mood_"

"And why not, a miracle just happened"

"_That is, life is a miracle and a great chance. It's incredible that most people forget. They focus in problems, in what they lack, in useless companies, in stupid worries. They get used_ _to wake up every morning to feel the beatings of their hearts, to the wonderful of their senses, to the possibility of expressing their ideas, their love, their individuality and they forget that each of those gifts is a miracle on one self. They receive the gift of life and don't know what to do with it, it bores them, and they waste it"_

"It's as if you were offered a treasure everyday and you wouldn't like to receive it, r as if you received it grudgingly and don't use it," I commented

"_That's why death can be your best friend. And I don't mean to get obsessed with it or to wish it or to get depressed because is imminent, but to remember that we all have the days counted, that in any moment we can cease existing. If people had this in mind I assure you they would live much better. When Death becomes present, the problems of daily life are not so grave, worries have no sense, the argues, hatred and resentment disappear of our relationships because we want to take as much advantage as possible the little time we have left."_

"It seems that what happened to me, awakened me"

"_You expressed it perfectly. You were awakened! Which gives me lots of joy because you have a new perspective from today our talks will be much more interesting"_

"You mean that I always had been asleep?"

"_In a certain way, yes. Most people live in a dream most of their lives and, worst of all, that it's not even a nice dream. They can't see beyond what they've been told they have to do. They're dragged by routine and can't escape from it, trapped in behaviors that don't give them the results they expect, in conflictive relationships that don't satisfy them, in quests that don't belong to them, in customs they despise"_

"As if we were robots programmed for work, for being productive, for getting what others have told them they need. Answering in an automatic way what they've been made believe."

"_Exactly! Answering blindly to their beliefs. Beliefs that have been imposed on them and haven't tested yet. Mistaken beliefs that have been passed down generation to generation as if they were a genetic defect."_

"But… how can someone free itself of something it has believed its whole life? Of something that is considered true by most people?"

"_Analyzing the beliefs and testing them. The person that wants to awaken and stop being a slave of its education, of society and its past, it needs to test everything it believes in. that's the only way of recovering freedom. Luckily, you and I, still have the chance to do it_"

"Yeah? For what?"

"_You still care about the For What?"_

"No… seeing it calmly, I no longer care as much about the Why nor the For What.


	7. Forgiveness

The Slave

Chapter 7- Forgiveness

That same night my father came to visit me along with my brothers Iggy, Wendy and Ludwig. Esperanza had informed them of what had happened and expected the doctor in his guard so he would explain them the details. Wendy came closer to my bed while my father and Iggy talked in low voice near the door without me being able to hear what they were saying.

"Little brother, little brother…" Wendy told me in low voice crying and holding my hand

"Hi, sis, I'm glad to see you again. I'm fine, don't worry." I imagined to answer her

Wendy had always been good with me. She always was a spoiled brat that made tantrums for every little thing, but I always knew that I could count on her when I needed her and gave us a strong feeling of union beyond words.

The doctor knocked twice before opening the door and asked to be with my father alone. Once Wendy, Iggy and Ludwig went out of the room, the doctor got two chairs close to a side of my bed to talk with my father.

"How's my son, doctor? What happened?" my father asked anxious

"Not very well, your Highness. His state has worsened lately. His heart stopped today and though his vital signs are stable, there are many possibilities that it happens again."

"You mean that he will die soon?"

"We can't exactly know it. Eight months have passed and it's the first time it happens. It is possible that his heart stops in any moment and we can't revive him. That's why I wanted to talk to you in private… I need you to sign some papers." He continued while he got some papers from a folder and gave it to him.

My father began to read. Suddenly he stood up, desperately wrinkled the sheets of paper and threw them at the doctor yelling:

"Are you crazy? You want me to sign a permission to let my own son die? …"

The doctor frightened stood up throwing his chair backwards while he held himself with a hand on the wall so he wouldn't fall; he covered his face with the other arm to prevent the papers from hitting his face.

"Calm down, Your Highness… it's not about that," the doctor asked tried to recover his composure

Ludwig, upon listening my father's yells and knowing his temperament, hurriedly entered the room to see what was happening.

"What's wrong, dad?" he asked standing between the doctor and my father to calm the situation down.

"I'm not going to give up so easily."

"Alright, alright, but, what happened?" Ludwig asked looking at my father and then turning towards the doctor, trying to understand the situation.

"We need him to firm an authorization so that we do not interfere the next time his heart stops beating, that's all!" the doctor answered as he picked up the wrinkled papers from the floor. "Think about it, he said leaving visibly upset.

"Dad… that's the doctor who saved my brother's life this evening…"

"Yes? Well, he doesn't want to do it anymore," my father replied angry

After carefully reading the papers the doctor gave to him, Ludwig sighed deeply and commented:

"dad, understand that it have been eight months… eight months of tension for all of us, the others have not even found out what happened today… besides, how much have you spent in the hospital?"

"There's no problem with that," my father lifted his voice angry and lifted his fist challenging

In a second he understood that he had gone back to his previous behavior and recapaciting he apologized.

"Forgive me, son, I'm desperate."

"I understand, dad, is hard for everyone."

"What's going to happen when the others find out?"

"Iggy already has become stronger with this experience. Dad, a lot of time has passed, don't you think he has already gotten used to the idea?"

"You can never get used to the idea of losing your family," my father answered

"I mean that he knows that is only matter of time, besides, look." M brother told him wile he pointed at me with his finger, "in this state do you think that if he comes back to himself, he will be alright again? He has been like that for so much time… we don't even know if his brain is still working."

"Better than you think," I answered him in my mind

"But we can't chose that," my father said as he took Ludwig's hand to prevent him from pointing at me any longer, "that's playing a Star Spirits"

"Playing the Star Spirits is keeping him alive! Maybe it was the Star Spirits themselves who stopped his heart and here he is against his will. Maybe he is suffering and what we are doing is to prolong his pain."

When my father heard this, he fell into his chair and taking his hands to his face he muttered brokenhearted:

"damn it… I don't know what to do."

"sign the authorization and end his suffering, dad," Ludwig said giving him the wrinkled papers

My father stared at the papers for a few moments and in an almost unconscious way took a nearby pen and after drying a tear that rolled down his cheek, signed the papers… he signed my own death sentence…

"_don't be so dramatic!"_ my Guide always wanted to give his opinion, "_we will all die soon or late, the important it's not to live a lot of time but take advantage of the time we are alive"_

"I think it's curious that I'm not angry neither with my father or my brother. I really understand the hardship of the situation," I commented him

"_To forgive is not an action in itself, forgive is simply to understand. When you manage to understand that we all seek what we believe is the best for us, that our actions are usually, well-mentioned, that everything we do has as objective to get close to what we believe is happiness. Then you realize that there's nothing to forgive."_

"But, when someone hurts you intentionally?"

"_Most people has no intention of causing harm. We all take our decisions from the knowledge that we have and the circumstances that surround us at the moment. If your mate chooses you cut up with you and leave with another, she does because the relationship she has with you doesn't make her happy anymore and because she thinks that she will be better with another person; she doesn't do it for bothering or hurting you, she does it because she thinks it's the best she can do in that moment. Many people say: she abandoned me, in reality they don't abandon you, they simply leave. People doesn't get disappointed they simply do what they can do and if doesn't coincide with what you believe they should do, then you get disappointed."_

"What about the people that steal, kill or deceive others deliberately?"

"_What happens with them is that they have a limited vision, they hadn't learned that there are other forms of obtaining what they want, they don't know that causing a bad deed to others is causing it to themselves. Do you believe that money that can be obtained deceiving, stealing or affecting others?"_

"No, I don't think so."

"_Do you imagine what is to live with a constant fear of being discovered, with the charge of conscience of bad deeds, with the rejection of people?"_

"In their proper actions they take the punishment. Should we then accept what people does despite it affects us?"

"_No, one thing is to understand and accept and other, very different, is to resign yourself and endure. Understand is to put yourself in other's shoes, being conscious that no one can disappoint, offend or abandon you, only yourself. Accept is to recognize that everyone has the right to look for happiness in the form they believe convenient. On the other side, to endure the behaviors of other that affect you, or resign yourself to live I a relation that doesn't make you happy, is playing the victim, make yourself the martyr and that goes against your own will."_

After a while, Wendy came into the room and after explaining to her what had happened, they decided to comment it to the others so they would get ready. She, Iggy and my father went to my house and Ludwig agreed in taking the papers to the doctor's office.


	8. Love

The Slave

Chapter 8- Love

The next day Carla came back to visit me and encountered with my father and siblings in my room. They hadn't seen each other since the day of the accident nor they knew about her pregnancy. I noted Carla was calmer, I could see in her face that yesterday's anger had turned into a deep sorrow. There in front of me, she explained my family what had happened that night:

"During the party, we had a strong argue, sire," she said directing to my father, "he had drunk a lot and was very bad. He got away for a few moments with his friend Edward and when they came back both acted like crazy. They had their stares lost and said incoherent things. They had decided to leave the party; I tried to stop them but could not. They go into Edward's car and took off screeching the wheels at high speed, I just stood there in the street seeing how they got far. When they reached the corner they ignored the red light…" she paused and kept staring at the floor trying to remember what she had seen. Wendy covered her mouth with the hand as if wanting to contain her weep. Iggy clenched his teeth and fists tightly and closed his eyes shut, trying to contain his tears and Carla continued:

"A charge truck crashed just in the driver's door, I think the driver had not even time to react, he hit them with so much force that the car span various times before remaining with the wheels looking up… I ran to where the car was and when I saw them, stuck between irons and glass, full of blood… I was sure that the two had died…"

"Well, and, what happened next? What did you do? Where did you go?" my father asked

"I don't remember well what happened… I remember that people began to gather around the car and pushed me to see what had happened. I began to walk getting away from the place, I was like sleeping, I walked for a long time without knowing anything about me. I don't even remember how I got home."

"But... Why didn't you call us? We were very worried about you. We don't know where you live, not your phone," Morton asked

"Excuse me, Morton… I was so scared. After what happened I fell into a strong depression and, trying to feel better, I went to live with an aunt away from here, convinced they had died."

"Well and, that baby you're expecting? It's…" Iggy was about to ask

"… It's his, Iggy, your brother's"

"but… he never commented us anything," Roy replied

"I didn't know it neither Roy, I was going to tell him in the party… but I couldn't."

"oh, sis!" Lemmy said and hugged her crying

Carla also hugged him looking at my father searching for his approval. My father placed his strong arms around her to show his support. They were like that for a few moments and then Carla commented:

"I came to the city to be examined and I found out he was here. That's why I came, just to find him like this…" she said as she looked at me with her eyes filled of tears

"Be strong, Carly…" Iggy replied, taking her by her hand and turning to see me also.

They kept commenting about what had happened and about the pregnancy. I then found out that she had five days left for the laying of the egg. I was surprised by the strength everyone had and u understood why my Guide had called me arrogant when I complained about what was happening.

"_Inside all of us there's a great strength that allows us to keep going on from the worst situations," _my Guide commented, "_one and again we recover from the grief that causes us to lose what we love."_

"However in those moments we think that the world is ending and we won't have the enough strength to resist the pain," I answered him

"_in those moments we must try to remember that we have survived hard situations, we must make an effort to understand that it pains us so much, because we're sentient and loving beings: that if we didn't care about anything, it wouldn't pain us but we would lose the biggest enjoyment that exists: love others."_

"thinking about it calmed," I interrupted, "love others is a courage act. We love despite knowing that we will irremediably lose what we love, despite knowing that everything can end, without a guaranty of receiving something in return.

"_You don't need to receive anything in exchange of love you give because loving others is a gift you give to yourself."_

"And then, why is love always surrounded of so much suffering?"

"_Because that thing that most people call love, is not. What makes you suffer is selfishness and arrogance."_

"Please explain it to me," I asked him

"_People that says that suffers for love in reality is suffering for believing that the loved person has to do what he wants and that's arrogant. The people suffer because they believe that their loved one must satisfy their need, that's selfish. That what most people call love is more like a merchant contract that says: I agree to love you as long as you are how I like and you do what I say. In reality, love is free, it doesn't demand, it's doesn't' want to change the other, it's not possessive, it's not conditioned."_

"It's a contradiction for us to be strong and to suffer so much."

"_Many people is used to suffer and being unhappy. So used that they make unhappiness part of their identity and their personality, that's why is so hard for them to be fine. That's why they focus on the negative and forget about the blessings they daily receive."_

"What it's supposed that must not hurt us?"

"_The grief is not the same thing as the suffering. Grief is part of the life and comes from losing what we love. Suffering comes from not accepting what happens, of the idea of what could be different, of thinking that things must be done your way."_

"But then, are we responsible of our lives or not? On one side you tell me we have the power to make our life what we want and on the other you tell me we must accept everything that happens."

"_You're responsible of your life, not of life itself. One more contradiction: you don't have power in absolute and you have all the power you need."_

"I think I understand you. Is like my condition in this moment. I can't do anything to change what's happening and, however, in the moment I accepted it I stopped suffering. What seemed me a punishment a few days ago, now seems to me like a blessing, the chance to be a few more moments with my loved beings and participate in their lives. A few days ago I wanted my life to end and no I ask to hold on for the three days left so that I may meet my baby."

"_Nothing has changed in the outside, only your attitude before what's happening. That's the great power the living beings have: the capacity of deciding how to react before what life resents to you. If you can't control what happens around you, you can decide how to interpret it and what attitude you will have. You're responsible of what you think, of the decisions you take, of how you want to see and live._

"Besides, I'm only responsible of me and no one else."

"_That is. What can fill your life of suffering and frustration the most is to believe that you're responsible of what the others feels, think or do. Everyone is ready to fill itself with the guilt, the grief and the suffering of others, as if that helped in something. To believe that someone depends on you to be happy or being fine is very arrogant, is a useless burden and too heavy. Each one has the responsibility of its own life._

I was so concentrated in this chat inside my head, that I didn't even realize that my father and siblings had gone out and that Carla had stayed in the room alone with me. She placed a chair next to my bed, took my hand and began to cry silently as she posed her look in my face. Then she turned towards the door to make sure it as closed, she got closed to me as if she were to tell me a secret and told me in low voice:

"Hi, my love, I miss you very much…" the weeping unallowed her to keep talking. The placed her arm over my chest and sank her head in the pillow next to mine, I could feel her tears rolling down my cheeks and her perfume brought me hundreds of memories of our moments together.

What urgency to caress her hair with my hands, of drying her tears with my kisses and tell her that I missed her a lot too, that it was for her that I was still here. How I wanted to express her how much I loved her and ask her forgiveness for the bad moments I made her go through!"

The kept like that for a few moments more and then lifted her head to see me. It surprised me that she cried and smiled at the time, showing that strength my Guide and I had talked about.

"Did you see my big belly, my life?" she told me in a joking tone taking a hand to her belly and caressing it, "it's your baby… it will be born soon," she thought for a moment and then continued, "this child is a product of our love, I know our relationship wasn't perfect but I always had the security that you loved me," she kept talking to me passing from the cry to the laugh in a unexplainable mix of happiness and sadness.

"I love you deeply, if I treated you bad it's because I answered to the wrong beliefs," I imagined answering her, "thanks for being here despite everything."

"Oh Larry, what's going to happen with us?" she expressed letting out a sigh

"Happens what happens, everything will be fine, you will see," I replied to her in my mind, with the security that gave me to know we have the strength to face the challenges of life, hard as they are.


	9. My Life Apparently Will End

The Slave

Chapter 9- My Life Apparently Will End

The next two weeks passed without any news. I still had the chats with my Guide, I think in that time I learned more than in my entire life about the true values of a living being, about our capacities, about responsibility and about an infinity of more matters. In the hospital some changes of the visit hour were made and allowed any of my family to sleep with me, probably my heart would stop beating in any moment. A cot was conditioned next to the wall so Iggy could spend the night next to me, sometimes my father or any of my siblings to give him a break. Iggy always tried to refuse; he said he wanted to be present in case. They convinced him, saying that the one who stayed with me would immediately call him if something happened. Carla had layed my egg, and it would hatch in a few more hours.

That night it was weird that no one had come to stay with me, I decided to ignore it and supposed Iggy or anyone else would come later. I imagine it was about eleven o´clock when the door suddenly opened, I saw the nurse that tended to me before Esperanza came, that cold and bad-mooded woman, accompanied by a doctor I had never seen before. Both turned to the sides to make sure no one saw them enter, closed the door and pointing at my bed, without looking at my face, she said:

"That's the one I talked you about."

The doctor that was with her came closer to see me, remained thoughtful for a moment and asked:

"How much time do you say he has been in come?"

"About half-eight months. I tell you he is perfect for what we want." She answered

"Well and how do you know his organs are in good condition?" he asked again

"About two weeks ago he was declared dead for six minutes and managed to revive him, since then his vital organs are stable. Everything works well" the annoying nurse answered

He still looked thoughtful; he took his hand to his chin and turned constantly to the door as if he feared to be discovered at any moment.

"It's very risky," he finally said, "in first place; it's the alarm of the device. In second place what if his kindred come… I don't know if it's worthy…"

"It's worthy, man!" she interrupted him; "we'll be given $5000 coins for each of his lungs. His father signed the authorization of no-intervention in case of cardiac arrest. I will take care of the alarm, I can disconnect it. And, for his family don't worry, I know they don't come today."

"Did you verify if his blood type matches with the person's that will receive the organs?"

"It matches; both are positive O,"

"What about the sickness record?" he insisted wanting to find a reason that would persuade him not to go on ahead

"I already did it, everything fine,"

"How are we going to take him immediately to the mortuary?"

"I'm in charge of reporting the entries to the mortuary do that's no problem."

"Well, and to justify we are here when it happens?"

"Listen, I was just assigned again to take care of the patient. So it won't be weird I'm here. Besides you're on guard today, right? Then, it won't be weird that, doing my routine, I find him already lifeless and call you to certify his death."

"I don't know… something's wrong," he commented as he took his hand to his head and turning to look at me one more time

"don't doubt more about it... if doing it for the money is that doesn't convince you, think in the woman that will receive the lungs has got a whole life ahead of her, she's got two children waiting for her at home. He, on the other hand, has reached the end of his life, he's still kept here alive but surely his brain stopped working since they brought him."

As he listened to this, the doctor stared at me for a few moments and then retired the stare as if he knew I was conscious of what they plotted and felt ashamed.

"Very well," he said, letting out a sigh, "disconnect the alarm, I'll make sure no one comes close

The nurse hurriedly moved some wires in the posterior part of the device that kept me alive. While she did, the doctor opened the door a few cm and peeked out, visibly nervous.

"it's done!" she said retiring a bit and rubbing her hands against the coat she wore like children when discovered touching something they had forbidden. The doctor took a one more look outside, closed the door without making noise and got closer to the device.

"Pay attention," he told her, "see these 7 switches? You have to turn them off each hour to prevent sudden changes; only like that we will keep the organs in good state to use them. It's 12 o´clock," he said, looking at his watch, "turn off now the first one and come back here each hour."

The nurse got closer to the control panel of the device and turned off the first of the switches. I noted the rhythm of my heart decreased and felt very tired as when one's about to fall asleep.

"the rest, you have to turn them off in this order," the doctor commented pointing the switched left to right and wiping the sweat that dripped on his forehead with the sleeve of his white coat, "you take care of that and I will prepare everything for the transplant. If something goes wrong, we're going to get into a very deep problem."

"You worry too much," was the last the nurse said before both hurriedly went out of the room.


	10. The Illumination

The slave

Chapter 10- The Illumination

A few minutes after the nurse and the doctor went out, Esperanza came into the room and I thought I still had a chance of staying alive. She sat in the bed next to me, looked at me with compassion for a moment, caressed my hair like she usually did and said:

"Hi, I came to say good bye."

"Say good bye? Do you know what's happening?" I asked her in my mind

"My job here with you is over."

"Wait, don't go," I imagined to reply to her, "turn to the control panel! Turn on the switch!"

"Speaking of which…" she smiled doubting of going forward with what she wanted to say and then continued, "the egg began to crack today at about ten o' clock P.M, they expect the baby will hatch in six more hours. All your family is watching it no, that's why they didn't come to see you tonight."

"With more reason! Turn on the switch! ... Turn on the switch! ... Turn on the switch! ..." I yelled in my mind as if wanting to use telepathy.

"There's nothing else I can do for you. Now, I must go with someone else who needs me. I hope my presence was useful to you."

"It was very useful, Esperanza," I said now resigned, "thanks to you and your cares I resisted the first months here. I have learned from you what is to love unconditionally and give yourself to the care of others without expecting something in change. Thanks a lot."

"If only I could have done more, but…" she remained thoughtful for a few moments, lowered her head and drying a tear that rolled down her cheek continued, "everything's fine, you will see. It's time for me to go." She kissed me in the forehead and went out of the room without turning to look at me.

"Good bye, Esperanza, thanks for everything…"

Well, then the uncertainty is over, I had six hours of life left and my try to meet my baby had been frustrated already. I consciously to get angry with those two Koopas that were spoiling my plans but I couldn't. no matter that they were moved in part by greed, the result, if they managed to use my lungs to save that woman they talked about, it would be positive. This could be my last good action and though I hadn't intervened directly, I would help someone to keep living this wonderful life with a part of my body.

How ironic! My baby in other part of this hospital waits for its turn to love and I wait here my turn to cease existing. As if there was a special connection between him and me.

"_There's a special connection between your baby and you!_" my Guide commented, "_not only between you two, but with all living beings, with all species and everything that exists."_

"Of course, we all are part of the universe."

"_You're not part of the universe, YOU are the universe, you are life itself,"_

"That I'm life? That's very deep," I commented, "I think the six hours left won't be enough for you to explain it to me,"

"_I'm not going to explain your considering the circumstances, I'll allow myself to cheat and show you something that few living beings are capable of living in their whole life. Faint…"_

"What? How do I-?" I didn't finish the question. When I realized I was no longer in the hospital room or inside my body. It was like having one of those dreams where everything is possible, where you realize you are dreaming and you know what's happening without the need to see nor hear it.

"_This is the Illumination,_" he said, "_this is what the sages look for and what the gurus and masters want to reach. This is what it takes years and years of deep meditation._

"What place is this? It's Heaven?"

"_It's not a place, it's a feeling. Here Space and Time do not exist like you've known them._"

"But…?"

"_Sh-hh! Turn off those thoughts already and allow yourself to feel…"_

I totally abandoned myself to the experience and in mere seconds I could understand the great gift that my Guide had given me: "The Illumination" like he called it is a wonderful feeling of being part of the universe and at the same time being the very universe. It's to feel a connection with all human beings, with all living beings and with everything that exists. It's to lose completely the fear to loneliness and realize that life takes care of all of us like it does with everything that exists. It's to know that everything's fine in our lives and that we are part of something great, part of a beautiful and complicated design.

"_It's time for you to come back,_" I could barely hear the voice of my Guide that asked me to wake up from this beautiful dream.

Once again I felt my body and despite the terrible tiredness, I kept the sensation of good that the experience provoked me.

"That was wonderful!" I expressed excitedly in my mind, "I'm part of everything! I'm as important as the stars, as the sun, as everything that exists!"

"_We all are and that's not only mystic or spiritual wordplay, it's a real and provable fact,_" my Guide replied and then continued, "_you were created by a cell of your father and one from your mother. And that pair of cells carry the genetic information of those who were your ancestors. That's how you're connected with all humanity because, literally, we're all parents._"

"But… not only I felt connected with human beings but also with everything that exists," I commented intrigued

"_When you were conceived in your mother's womb, after she layed your egg with your embryo inside: the embryo had all the necessary information to create every part of your body. There was a perfect plan to form you just like you are now. Even the smallest detail was foresighted: the color of your eyes, of your hair and skin, the shape of your mouth, your fangs, your scales, your shell and exactly where those would grow. It's a true miracle! Now, your egg took the prime matter to form you of everything that surrounded it: the heat it absorbed, the air it filtered and the warmth of your parents' body. And there you were taking parts of the VERY universe. An apple that once was part of an animal and before that it was an insect and much before it had been the petal of a rose; it was used to form your heart. The water that once was in a river and other times, an iceberg in the North Pole and then became a cloud and rain; it was used to create the blood that runs through your veins. And the minerals that once were a mountain and much before part of a far away star were used to form your bones. When you die and your body disintegrates, the particles that form it will be the prime matter that the universe will use to keep renovating_

"That's why you say that I am life itself?"

"_Exactly, through you, life keeps going and renovates. You were the instrument that the life used to create other wonderful being and full of possibilities: the baby that is waiting to be born a few meters from here. That new being comes to give the world something very special, something only he can give it, a wonderful gift to the whole world."_

"You mean that my baby will be special? That my purpose in life was to bring him into the world?"

"_He's as special as you and all living beings are. The gift he comes to give to the world is his own individuality. Because despite being part of all that exists he will also be unique. That baby comes to share his thoughts, his ideas, his way of being, his emotions, his joys and his sorrows. That's the purpose of our life. Give the world what we know that only WE can give it."_

"Being ourselves, that's the meaning of our life!" I interrupted him

"_Being what we are and enjoy of this unique chance to exist. Before being born you were part of eternity and, when you die, you will return to it. You have been given a small lapse to be yourself and you can take advantage of it._


	11. Mental Letters

The Slave

Chapter 11- Imaginary Letters

At that moment the door suddenly opened and the nurse that was now my executer came in. she closed the door carefully not to make noise, turned off the next of the switches and hurriedly went out of the room making sure nobody saw her. I was a little grieved when I noted the rhythm of my breathing, I felt dizzy and my vision was darkened for a few moments. Little by little my body was getting used to the less oxygen, the dizziness decreased and only the tiredness remained. I didn't feel any fear, or anger, however, a deep sorrow invaded me.

"_that sorrow comes from guilt and resentment,_" my Guide suggested, "_take advantage of this moment to forgive and, more important… to forgive yourself._"

I immediately admitted that he was right and y began to imagine that I wrote various letters for the important people in my life. I first started with my father and siblings

**Dear father and siblings:**

**I write you this letter in the moment of my death to say good bye and to thank all the blessings you filled my life with. Now understand that all you did for me, you did it for love. That despite all the mistakes I committed and of the bad moments I made you pass because of my ignorance, you were always willing to help me. I realize that you always acted with the best intentions and did the best you could.**

**I now understand that you also had stories of joys and sorrows, that you too had wounds and fears like us and that you acted always according to what you believed it was the best for everyone. I want to ask for your forgiveness for blaming you of what went wrong in my life and I admit in this moment that I was the only one responsible of my acts. I was free to choose my fate and my own actions brought me to the situation I find myself into. **

**I want to ask for your forgiveness for judging you and centering many times on your weaknesses and defects, I now know that I had no right to do it, as no one knows what's to be in your shoes and I now understand that is a mistake to try to change others and that we can accept them as they are.**

**I hope you understand one day, that I feel proud to have been part of this family and if I had been given the chance of choosing my family, I would have chosen you. I feel sad because of the pain I've caused. I'm sure your love will give you strength to go on ahead from this situation and of all hard situations life presents you. Dad, Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, Bowsy… thanks a lot for your love and your cares. Thanks for your patience and your teachings. Dad, thanks for giving me life and, my siblings, thanks for helping me survive.**

**I love you**

**Larry**

When I finished writing this letter in my imagination, I felt as if I had left behind a weight I had carried for a lot of time. A weight I gripped to and made my journey through life slow and annoying. I continued imagining that I wrote a letter to my baby that I didn't meet.

**Dear little son or daughter:**

**While you wait to see the light for the first time, at the same time, my life's light is slowly putting out. It surprises me that even without meeting you, without having seen you once, the simple fact of knowing of your existence, filled my life's last moments with illusion and joy.**

**I can't explain how is that, despite having never held you in my arms; I feel a deep love for you. Surely because you represent for me and for everyone, the hope of a better world, or because you are the proof of someone up there, still trusts that we can make better our life and we deserve the chance to be happy. Don't allow my death to become a mark in your life. Always think that I took my decisions and had to face the consequences of my acts, that you are a new being and it's not up to you suffer for the mistakes I committed.**

**Don't allow anyone to try to convert my death into a tragedy, because it isn't. We all have to die soon or later and always leaving lots of possibilities of what we could have done. Because "what w could have done" doesn't exist, only what we do exists. Don't allow that the fact of not having a father affects you too much neither, we all can accept reality, if we don't grip o what could have been. Because the "what could have been" doesn't exist, only what IS.**

**Open your heart to receive the love of your mother and of all those who surround you. If you do you will realize that you will need neither my love nor my presence. There will be enough love for you even after I'm gone. Give the world the great gift that is your love and your way of being, don't allow fear to prevent you from doing what you want to do, trust that you're a miracle and life wants to take care of you like its take care of all of its children.**

**I love you**

**Your dad**

Then I imagined to write a letter to Carla that said:

**Dear Carla:**

**Today I realize that I spent a great part of my life living in the future, filling myself with fear of what could happen and imagining what should be. Living like this, I ruined, many times, the precious moments we spent together. Most people looks their life to the future, making plans and imagining what will happen and what they want to achieve. Me, I only have left to look into the past and from here, from my death letch, everything seems so different. **

**From this point of view, things of my life take their true value. From here, I realize that the important in life is not the achievements, neither is to accumulate riches nor knowledge, not to prove the world our value; what is really important is to be with the beings we love, the kisses, the hugs, the caresses, the laughs, the sharing, the love for others; that's what we must accumulate. **

**I know I made you pass through bad moments when I insisted in wanting to change you, without realizing I had no right of doing it, because I didn't own you. I hope you understand that my faults didn't have their origin in evil, but in ignorance, in fear of being hurt, in a wrong feeling of not deserving your love and the fear of giving myself to you. I ask your forgiveness for my mistakes and today I free you from my exigencies and my reclaims. It was never your responsibility to satisfy my needs as you were never responsible of my happiness**

**There's nothing left in my heart that is not the joy of having met you, the gratefulness of the happy moments and the love I feel for you.**

**I love you**

**Larry**

At last, I imagined writing the letter that I thought was the most important of all, that was directed to myself.

**Dear friend:**

**I call myself friend because that's that I want to be with myself right now. For a long time I was my worst enemy, in fact, I was my only enemy. It was me who allowed fear to domain my life. It was me who gripped to the pains of the past to fill my present of suffering. It was my own voice my head listened to and that convinced me not to deserve the goo things and made me feel less than the rest. **

**It was myself that filled me with insecurities and doubts, of resentments and jealously. It was I who judged and criticized me in everything I did. I myself affected my health and welfare and I myself was the responsible of all problems in my life. The solution and all the answers where in me. I myself was the accused, the judge and the executioner of my own life. I myself said the verdict and I myself imposed the punishments. **

**And, however… today I forgive myself for everything, because I realize that I always did the best I could. I understand that I was a sentient and vulnerable being like all living beings are and experiences in my life molded my personality. Today I reject the guilt I feel for my mistakes as it doesn't help in anything and doesn't solve anything. I learned too late, that I was capable of changing my life despite my wounds and the situations that surrounded me. Late I understood that I was my own master, that my thoughts molded my existence, that I was not a slave of the circumstances and that the power to be better, to change and to live in harmony was in me.**

**Now I can see that my life was wonderful despite the losses and wounds that we all share. I thank the chance I had to see, to hear, to feel, to taste, the chance to share my life with others and the chance to love others. Today I get rid of old resentments towards others and towards myself. **

**Today I break the chains I tied myself with.**

**Today I free myself from the fear and guilt**

**Today I forgive myself for all my mistakes**

**Today I admit that no one has control over my thoughts**

**Today I admit that no one has control over my feelings**

**Today I declare myself free from all my wounds**

**Today is a good day to die.**

**I love me**

**The most important person in my life**

When I finished redacting these letters in m mind, I felt freed. Even when I knew I would not have the chance to write them nor to give them to their respective destinataries.

"_the decision to leave behind the guilt and resentment is something that has to do with you and not as much with everyone else,_" my Guide commented, "_when you decide to forgive, it's you who gets free and gets rid of the heavy burden of rancor. Many people lives carrying a sack in the back. A sack full of offenses from the past, of guilts, of resentments, of wounds, of failed loves, of disillusions, of broken hearts, of infidelities, of miseries…_"

"Many say that we all have a cross to carry," I interrupted him

"_Where did they get that idea? They themselves placed the cross in tow gripping to the past and is theirs' the decision to leave it the moment they want. Nobody has asked them to suffer._"

"They say you must pay what you receive,"

"_That's worse! And who do you have to pay it to? Besides, do you have to pay it with your suffering? They forget that life is generous with their children and the love they receive is unconditional, that it is given to them without expecting anything in return. As well as they receive everything plants, the animals and creatures of the world need._


	12. The Nurse

The Slave

Chapter 12- The Nurse

Once more the nurse came back to my room and for the first time she came closer to see me. She ducked over me, getting her face closer to a few centimeters from mine. She looked at me directly in the eyes as somebody that looks for something through the window. I noted her features were very crude and her skin looked wilt and full of marks. Her lips were thin, colorless and lifeless. She had a horrible pimple from which two thick hairs came out in her forehead that made her see even more disgusting. Her breathing was forces and when she blowed out the air she made a weird and unpleasant sound.

She kept staring at me for a few seconds and I could see my face reflected in her black eyes. It was in that moment that I understood something very important: this Koopa woman was a different version of what I was! We both share the capacity to hurt others, the capacity to lie, t be greedy, to be selfish and even the capacity to die. Admitting this filled me of chills.

"_Don't be so astonished,_" commented my Guide when he noticed my reaction, "_that's part of the freedom that has been given to you and part of your own nature. To be free you need options. What merit would a person that is just with the others if it hadn't the capacity to do the opposite? The merit of our actions lies in what we choose is the best for everyone and not just for ourselves."_

"We choose between good and bad?"

"_It's not about good or bad, it's about choosing between what benefits and hurts us. The problem is that some refuse to recognize that any damage you do to another, soon or late, it goes back. Take this woman as an example, what do you think she's doing here when seeing you this way?_"

"I have no idea, she comes to mock at me…" I answered insecure

"_She comes to calm down her conscience; she wants to make sure you're not conscious. Surely she repeats herself once and again that you're not here and that she does it for the woman that expects the organs and not for the money."_

"And, however doubt will torment her for a along time."

"_Exactly, and that's the decision she has taken. She's exercising her freedom."_

The nurse distracted my attention when she placed her hands on my face to cover my eyes as if she didn't stand, I could hear how she turned off the next switch.

This time, the change started in my stomach; it was as if I had suddenly become very hungry, besides I felt a tingle that went from my waist to the fingers of my feet. The tiredness increased and I list consciousness.


	13. A Miracle

The Slave

Chapter 13- A Miracle

What made me recover consciousness once again, was a pleasant sensation in my cheeks. When I fixed my sight I realized it was my little brother, Bowsy, he placed his hands on my cheeks and playfully caressed me as he told me:

"Wake up already, lazy. Come on, wake up big brother, you've got an important visit."

It was weird to see him here as my father hadn't allowed him to visit me to keep him from having a bigger pain.

I noted that only one of the switches was left to be turned off, so the nurse should have turned off the other two while I was unconscious.

"Your baby has already hatched… it's a pretty girl! Wake up to see her, please!" Bowsy yelled at me each time more desperate, "You have to wake up, big brother! You have to wake up!" he repeated as he pressed his little hands against my chest.

"That's why dad didn't want you to come, Bowsy. Try to calm down, little brother." Iggy said, who was behind him holding my baby in his arms,

"Come here, brother. Please calm down," Morton was telling Bowsy, that was standing next to Iggy as he ducked to embrace him and take him out of the room.

Iggy, seeing Junior was a bit calmer, turned to me, leaning a bit and removing the blanket that covered the face of my little baby, he told me:

"Look, little brother, here's your baby…"

Her little eyes were closed, her small, blue Mohawk was pointing backwards. Being able to see her like this, sleeping calmly filled my heart with joy. I thought she was the most beautiful image I had never seen…

Suddenly the horrible nurse that surely came to turn of the last switch entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" she yelled desperately, fearing to have been discovered

"We only came to show him the baby," Wendy said consternate

"You can't be here, you have to leave!" the nurse yelled as she pushed Iggy to get him away from me, "get our immediately," she said desperately fearing her plans were sinking to the bottom.

"You can't do this!" I pleaded her in my mind, "let me see my baby a few more seconds, please!"

I felt desperate, my life's most precious moments were being, my life's last moments, were being taken from me! "Just a few more moments! I WANT TO TOUCH HER AT LEAST ONCE!"

"He moved!" Bowsy suddenly yelled from the door, where he was watching what was happening

Iggy and the nurse turned to see me and realized that my left arm was lifted up as if I wanted to reach my baby. The nurse's expression was so that in her hurry to get out as soon as possible, she dropped the serum jar that hanged next to my bed and spilling its content in the floor. She made her way between Morton and Bowsy and left running afraid.

"Call the doctor!" Roy asked Lemmy that was looking at me amazed

In that instant, I took the tube that came into my mouth with my left hand and pulled it desperately, trying to remove it. I felt I was drowning.

"Wait a minute, little brother, the doctor is coming," Iggy told me, as he rested his hand in my shoulder still holding the baby with his other arm. Almost immediately Lemmy and dad arrived accompanied by the doctor that had saved my life the first time, who, upon seeing me with the head lifted from the pillow, came closer to me and touched my forehead to calm me down. He retired two elastic bands that went from my mouth to my hind head and with a skilled move slowly got the plastic tube that obstructed my throat. When I took a puff of air, I could close my eyes for the first time, when I let it out, after coughing a bit, I started to cry unable to stop.

"Go out immediately," the doctor asked my father and siblings, Bowsy included, that had reunited around my bed.

"Come on, boys, let the doctor do his job," dad told my siblings inviting them to get out of the room.

"Will he be okay?" Wendy asked the doctor worried

"He's conscious, young princess," the doctor answered, "that's all we know until now. Please go out and take that baby to maternity where it should be.

"Thanks, Star Spirits!" Lemmy said excited

"I told you! I knew he was going to wake up!" Bowsy said happily as all of them went out.


	14. My Happy Ending

The Slave

Chapter 14- My Happy Ending

The next day, I was subjected to a surgical intervention to remove the tube that had been introduced in my stomach and I was translated to another room in the recovery area. Ironically the same nurse that had tried to end up with my life was assigned to take care of me now. When she entered in the room again, she was scared stiff.

"Good day," she told me timidly looking at the floor

"Good morning," I replied naturally

"Here is your medicine," she said, leaving a pair of pills over the bureau next to my bed. She revised the room to see if everything was in order, while I followed her with my look.

"I'm going," she commented nervously, "if you need something you can call me pressing this button," she continued, as if wanting to find out if I knew what had happened.

"Thank you, that's kind!" I replied faking everything was okay

She went towards the exit and when she was about to cross the door I asked her:

"Speaking of which… what happened with the woman that needed the kidneys?"

Her face became pale and opened her eyed as if she had seen a ghost. It was obvious she realized I knew everything.

"The…. The… woman. She's okay, she found a donor she same day you awakened" she said stuttering and notably nervous

She didn't comment anything else and closed the door. After that I found out she and the doctor that had planned to sell my organs, abandoned their job that day, surely fearing I would reveal them.

I remember very well the day my father and siblings visited me, Iggy was so excited that he entered the room running and hugged me tightly, took my face in his hands and filled me with kisses

"Little brother! It's a miracle! What a joy to see you fine again!" he told me crying without stopping to kiss my face

"Iggy, what desire I had to hug you! I love you very much," I answered him and placed my hand around his shoulders as my face filled with tears.

Dad observed trying to hide the tears that began to come out of his eyes.

"Come here, dad, you don't have anything to hide anymore. I know you feel too, I know you love me as much as I do," I told him as I extended my arm towards him

He came closer to my bed and we three spent a good time hugged without any of us being able to contain the tears of joy. Next the rest of my siblings came. All the presents amazed I had been conscious the whole time. Bowsy was very happy when I told him that he had helped me to wake up, he moved a lot and took my hand, proud. The last in entering was Carla; she had our daughter in her arms. All the presents decided to retire and leave us alone.

"Hi, love, how are you?" she asked me in low voice

"I'm alive dear… thanks to you and the baby you have in your arms

"Thanks to us?"

"Yes, my love, it was for you that I gripped so much to life. It was 250 the desire I had to meet our daughter, that filled me with strength. Speaking of which, how will we call her?"

"Wonder."

"Wonder?"

"Yes, because she was born when this wonder happened"

"Wonder… it's a cute name…"

"Well, here she is," she said as she got the baby closer to me. I took her in my arms very carefully and held her against my chest. I kept staring at her and observing hos she closed and opened her mouth.

"She looks a lot like you," Carla smiled with sweetness as she caressed Wonder's light blue hair. She got closer to me and kissed me in the mouth.

We spent some time together and then Carla retired to rest, as she was still recovering from childbirth. That evening I felt as the most fortunate Koopa. I had been reborn and now had the chance to restart my life, to start a family and apply everything I had learned in the lat nine months. I thanked my luck to the Star Spirits, to life, to nature and to all the universe. Bow I had no doubt that I was part of everything that exists.

I closed my eyes and thought in my Guide. I called him in my mind and in high voice…

"Guide, friend. I want to speak with you," I pleaded various times with no answer

I felt very sad when I thought he would be with me no more, that I would not learn anything else from him.

That night, just before falling asleep, I heard the voice of my Guide and from afar he told me

"_I can't go anywhere because I'm part of you. I will be here when yo need to listen to me…_


End file.
